BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 12: Professional basketball player Lamar Odom attends HBO's Official Golden Globe Awards After Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 12, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Prayers are up for former NBA champ Lamar Odom — and it seems the well wishes & prayer calls are getting answered as new reports state Odom’s condition is steadily improving.

Early Friday morning reports stated that Lamar is now communicating in some fashion. There are some body movements, including Lamar opening his eyes, squeezing hands, and even making little conversation with doctors and ex-wife Khloe Kardashian, who has been bedside since Odom was admitted to the Nevada hospital facility.

Lamar Odom’s condition has improved in a hugely important way with his heart rate going back up. Doctors ran tests on Lamar’s heart Friday morning & revealed his heart function is “much better,” and this is a good sign of improvement, that a critical organ is responding well after such a trauma.

Doctors have asked for “calm” in Lamar’s room because they do not want him stimulated. Toward that end, doctors have ordered that virtually no one have access to Lamar’s room. Ex-wife Khloe however has not left that room, and reports that claimed the 30-year-old Kardashian was being consulted by doctors to make medical decisions which left her “overwhelmed.”

Now that Lamar is awake, doctors are closely monitoring his vitals. Lamar is able to breathe on his own, with the help of a mask rather than a ventilator, and doctors again say that’s an improvement. Reports do state the doctors are trying to get Lamar functioning on his own, but he is not out of the woods by any means, and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to sustain breathing on his own.

Another hopeful sign for Odom’s brain — after suffering multiple strokes during his hospital stay, doctors worry his brain may have sustained damage but do believe that Lamar Odom was never without oxygen and this is a critical factor weighing in his recovery. Why? Doctors believe paramedics arrived on the scene fast, and immediately treated Odom, and by the time he reached the ER center, his chances for survival increased by 30%.

When Lamar was admitted to the first hospital in Pahrump, Nevada after the 911 call, his respirations were 6-8 breaths a minute, with the normal rate being 12-20 a minute. Also, the ambulance picked Lamar up from the Love Ranch, tests determined his blood had 38% oxygen saturation. After treatment by paramedics, admittance into the hospital & such, doctors took Odom’s blood saturation levels again to see it increased to 58%. Although normal blood saturation is in the high 90’s, doctors continue to encourage any steps that lead to a healthy recovery.

Doctors who are treating Lamar are hopeful he did not suffer significant brain damage because of lack of oxygen. This is all consistent with the person who called 911 and said Lamar was ‘struggling but breathing.’ Doctors are still calling the wild card in Odom’s multiple strokes, saying it’s still undetermined how much damage was placed on his brain.

Fans & friends all wish Lamar the best recovery. He is currently surrounded by loved ones, family & friends Khloe Kardashian & family, children Destiny & Lamar Jr. & their mother, his father Joe, and others.